The market volatility that rocked Wall Street six weeks ago was back again today. Stock prices tumbled but didn't fall through the lows where they closed in February.
The Dow Industrials lost 724 points to close at 23,957.89 while 179 points were knocked off the NASDAQ Composite which finished the day at 7166.68.
For the Dow, it was the 5th largest point decline and the 17th largest percentage decline since the bull market began 9 years ago. The market hasn’t seen as much volatility since the 2011 debt ceiling debacle.
The sell off came after the Federal Reserve announced that it was raising the target for interest rates by 25 basis points to1.75%. Higher interest rates make bonds more attractive to investors giving them a reason to dump stocks.
The down day on Wall Street also reflects apprehension over Trump's memo on trade with China. Paul Krugman is a good resource on this topic, as usual.